Epic Fail
A realistic-stlye drawing of Epic Fail’s Dirk posing with a sword. In the version of Dungeons & Dragons I play we use a deities system where Clerics and Paladins can choose to serve a specific God. Dirk serves Amaterasu, the Japanese Goddess of the sun, and I therefore consider him to really be a Samurai.
I used this picture as a vote incentive for Comic Hovel for a while, there’s a new one now.
This Week in Epic Fail: Simone reveals that the magic key is located in Kasper’s Castle and tells the Adventurer’s about it’s history.
Creator’s Commentary: Aww, Kasper and Bianca are such a Romeo and Juliet.
EDITED 03/03/11 : I’ve changed the dialogue as per DugeonWarden‘s advice – the same information is there but it’s in a slightly more positive tone.
Okay, I think it’s time for me to start blogging again about things I find funny or awesome. In this case it’s both!
‘Even Heroes Have Bad Days‘ is a sculpture by Marcus Wittmers and took part in Berlin’s ‘Heroes, Freaks and Superrabbis‘ exhibition last year. The title says it all really. Well, when you’re flying at super speeds from planet to planet it’d only take a small miscalculation for things to go horribly, horribly wrong.
The funniest thing is there are fanboys out there arguing over this. “Superman would knock the planet out of orbit, dude!” “Nah! He’d fly straight through it.” Heh heh, sorry guys, our evidence indicates he does a faceplant into a pavement somewhere. Heh heh.
The real intent of Berlin’s Superhero exhibition was to look at the social and historical context behind Golden Age Superheroes. Did you know that many of the most iconic superheroes, including Superman, Batman and Spiderman, were created by Jewish comic artists? Did you know that comics may have influenced America to join the fight against Nazism in World War II? Food for thought.
This week in Epic Fail: Tinuvielle thinks she may be able to open the sealed spell-book with magic, but it remains stubbornly shut.
Creator’s Commentary: Grr. I think the hardest part of doing this comic is thinking up titles for the pages! I know they don’t exactly need titles, but I think it’s useful for people who are flicking through the archives to know more-or-less where they are.
YAY! The first bit of real magic. I hope you like the special effects. I think they are cool!
Tinuvielle is supposed to be a very beautiful Elf, so I’ve been working on her face to make her more attractive. In D&D terms I think her Comeliness is 19 or something like that.
Have a good one. I hope you enjoy this Christmas bonus, perhaps it’s not quite so sexy as last years but I it is more traditionally Christmassy: Clodin is giving Yoru a Warhammer as a pressent (yes that’s what it’s supposed to be – hard to tell I know).
The tag says: To Yoru, don’t tell your Mum. C/
Sorry the background is a bit sucky – what I’d like to do is lift that curtain and put a whole armory back there with everything wrapped up in christmas paper!
This week in Epic Fail: The party go to see Simone, a Magic-User with a job for them. Clodin says that as the leader he should do the talking, but as soon as the door is open she goes straight to Martin much to his chagrin.
Creator’s Commentary: I started and re-started this page 3 times, I was mostly done with the second version when I decided to bin it. I’m glad I did because the third and final version tuned out so much better. It can be such a temptation just to draw characters from straight in front or straight sideways, because it’s easy and there’s not a lot that can go wrong like with tricky angles and foreshortening. Except it’s flat and boring. That’s what I couldn’t accept; I guess I’m demanding more of myself.
I ran into some difficulty with height, specifically Clodin and Yoru. I still have a bee in my bonnet about a workshop I attended a while back, during which I asked for advice for drawing midgets, i.e. people who are proportionally smaller, as per the dictionary definition. I got jumped on for ‘using an offensive term and being discriminatory’ and therefore never received the help I still sorely need for drawing smaller characters such as (fantasy) Dwarves, Halflings and children. Harrumph! I guess it was just a misunderstanding but wish it hadn’t gotten in the way. If anyone can give me advice on drawing, to use the longer, less controversial definition, proportionally smaller characters it would be greatfully received!
This week in Epic Fail: Yoru is formally introduced to Amuletts and it’s a little icy. It turns out she’s the only one in the party not to have known about Tinuvielle’s adopted half-demon son.
Creator’s Commentary: Amuletts is annoying the characters in my webcomic as much as some of the readers! To be honest I’d be surprised if even her fans will like her all the time. I don’t like her all the time.
By the way, patting somebody in the face is probably the most annoying thing you can do to someone. Try it. It’s just impossible to ignore.
I hit a bit of a block during this page and @LouManglass of yet another webcomic told me it was my “brain is re-wiring itself for better art”. Then I decided this would be the bestest page ever. It isn’t, but it’s not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I think my art is getting a bit more consistent, there’s still room for improvement but at least I’m heading in the right direction!
This week in Epic Fail: Amuletts is taken aback by Yoru’s monstrous heritage and says things to offend both him and Tinuvielle.
Creator’s Commentary: Now the party are all back together again I feel like splitting them up again; there are far too many characters on this page!
I liked showing the reactions of the people in the Bar to the Heroes conversation. Although they take demons and such in their stride most people are shit scared of ’em. Yes, even little ones.
The Duergar joke is one only D&D folk will understand. Although I try to make the humour as accesible as possible I think it’s fair to slip a niche joke in now and then if it’s funny enough. A Duergar is basically a evil, dark-skinned type of Dwarf that lives underground and is rarely seen.
This week in Epic Fail: The gang reunite at an Inn and have drinks (especially Clodin). Initially Amuletts does not spot Tinuvielle because she is dressed in a drab colored dress clearly designed to cover most of her skin – a big difference from her usual revealing attire. Amuletts challenges her, pointing out how strange it is and Tinuville admits that her son, Yoru, has made the difference.
Creator’s Commentary: If you’re experiencing deja-vu that’s because I posted this a while back, then decided it was a mistake because I’d missed out a ton of stuff. So now it’s back – in its proper place.
Check back soon: I’ll be posting a Halloween Special.